The Customer Experience Series: Disney is Not All That Great at Solving Customer Issues

So, you think Disney is pretty good at customer service, do you? They have the pedigree; and they certainly must have a reputation for effectively solving customer issues, right?

Well, no, actually. Disney is not all that great at solving customer issues.

It’s not just Disney, but Ritz-Carlton and Chick-fil-A are also not all that great at solving customer issues.

Blasphemy!

“But,” you exclaim, “Disney and Ritz-Carlton and Chick-fil-A are well known for providing the best customer experience in their respective industries!”

Yes, they are indeed. But, none of these three spends much time solving customer issues… because they are known for never having issues in the first place. And, as we learned in The Customer is Not Always Right, good customer service means never having to say you’re sorry.

Disney, you see, almost never has to say they’re sorry.

Get It Right The First Time!

Creating great customer experiences are a top-down proposition. While frontline employees control the customer experience, the drive and desire (and processes and rules and incentive) for providing great customer service starts at the top.

Disney understands this at the highest level; and, moreover, lives it at the highest level. You may have heard the expression “crap rolls downhill.” Indeed it does; it rolls downhill all the way to the customer. Coincidentally, so do admiration and respect.

In fact, in business, everything rolls downhill. With Disney (as with your company), how management treats frontline employees will dictate how they treat customers. Remember this; it’s critical to getting the customer experience right the first time.

Next up in the series: Jerks Beget Jerks.

(If you’re catching this series for the first time, you may want to begin with the first post in the series: Why Does Good Customer Service Matter?)

About TheManager:

Steve Stauning, creator of The Appointment Culture and an expert in The Customer Experience. He is also an extremely popular keynote speaker, writer, and industry consultant. Learn more about Steve at SteveStauning.com.